Broward College defends $381,000 salary for president after he steps down

The Broward College Board of Trustees met Tuesday to discuss hiring a successor to college president David Armstrong, who is stepping down on June 30 and will be paid his annual salary of $381,000 to serve for a year as "President Emeritus." Trustees defended the salary. (Photo by Brian Ballou)

Despite criticism in Tallahassee, Broward College trustees are standing firm in their decision to pay President David Armstrong his $381,000 salary for one year after he steps down.

“We weren’t sending him over to Port Everglades to ride into the sunset,” Trustee David Maymon said Tuesday. “I need this president to stick around for twelve months because I need to download what is in his head and his heart for the next president.”

Advertisement

Armstrong will have the title president emeritus while on sabbatical as of June 30. Trustees said his availability to introduce the next president to state legislators and the business community exceeds the value of his salary.

The arrangement brought criticism from state House Speaker Richard Corcoran after it was reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jan. 22. Corcoran cut the school’s funding by $381,000 in the proposed House budget, making Broward the only one of the state’s 28 community colleges to receive an itemized cut.

Sabbaticals aren’t unusual for college presidents. Most public university presidents and at least three community college presidents in Florida have the benefit in their contracts. But experts say it’s unusual to give a president a sabbatical just before retirement.

As president emeritus, Armstrong is expected to spend 15 percent of his time introducing the president and board to the community and business leaders, according to a job description. His other responsibilities are listed as advising and consulting; assisting with legislative issues; initiating partnerships; and connecting the college with “thought and practice leaders.”

The agreement to pay Armstrong comes at a time when the college is struggling financially. In June it announced plans to increase class sizes, cut vacant positions and close an academic site in Coral Springs due to a $5.1 million decline in revenues. The college lost $2 million in state cuts and millions more as a result of declining enrollment, and repaid last May $5.6 million after a federal government review determined that more than 2,000 students received financial aid they weren’t entitled to.

Armstrong attended the meeting Tuesday but did not talk about his salary. He did offer his assistance to help find his successor.

“I want to help the team recruiting along the way. … I care as much as you do that we get the best president we have ever had in Broward College,” Armstrong said.

Board chair John Benz said the trustees would expect Armstrong to be on call around the clock and make some trips if necessary to introduce the new president to important contacts.

“We’re going to take a proactive position and educate the legislature on what exactly the role of a president emeritus is,” Benz said. “I think once they understand the role of the president emeritus and the expectations of the trustees from David Armstrong, they’ll understand and reconsider their position.”

The college has already picked a search firm, AGB Search based in New Jersey. A screening committee will come up with a list of 25 semi-finalists and that group would be whittled down to three or four finalists who would be invited to the campus for interviews in April.

The college has created a web page for the public to post comments related to the selection process, at bcpresidentsearch.com.